Film, TV production up in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles area is seeing a turnaround in film and TV production at the start of 2013, though local officials are being cautious before declaring a full rebound is on its way.

FilmL.A.'s report for the first quarter of 2013 showed an encouraging 17.6 percent rise in permitted production days for January through March compared with the same period last year. The major categories of feature film and television both enjoyed double-digit increases, while commercials took a slight hit of 0.6 percent following a record 2012 in that sector.

"When you look at a percentage as big as 22.4 on television dramas it's pretty exciting," said Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A., which coordinates location shooting permits for the city of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions. "But when you take a look at the base number, it's not that much different (1,260 PPD over 1,029). One large show can do a lot, and we had 'Southland' out almost constantly doing their filming the whole quarter."

First quarter feature production was up 25.5 percent in the region over the winter months of 2012. But again, Audley sounded a cautious note, explaining that was mainly due to low-budget, independent movies that qualified for the California production tax incentive program, not big studio blockbusters that pump more money into the area's economy and film workers' pockets.

Other TV subcategories that rose this year were pilots, up 37.3 percent; sitcoms, up 36.9 percent; Web-based TV, up 35.4 percent; and reality TV, up 2.1 percent. Factor in the drama number, and television overall rose 19 percent. It was the strongest first quarter TV has seen since 2007, and reverses a troubling flight of shows to states that offer more generous production incentives.

The biggest increase of the quarter was in still-photography shoots, which grew a whopping 51.8 percent. They aren't considered a significant economic driver, though, compared to larger and longer motion picture productions.

"It's hard to make it seem as though we've had this massive recovery when the percentages look big but they're based on very small numbers and they should be a lot bigger to start with," Audley said.

"The main thing for us, really, is that we want to see these numbers rebound more. The concern that we always have is that if these numbers don't come back and stay sustainable for the industry, we begin to lose vendors and crew and cast. People leave the business, and then it takes away the key advantage that California has. So we still have a lot of work to do, but we appreciate a good quarter when we see it."

Economist Kevin Klowden, director of the Milken Institute's California Center, was encouraged by the report but also hoped it was just the start of an upward trend.

"If numbers are up across the board, that means the demand for filmed content is also up," Klowden said. "Obviously, it's a very good sign for television, it's a very good sign for Los Angeles. The question really is, is this a temporary boost or is this something sustainable? I'd love to see this over a couple of quarters.

"After last year, we had nowhere to go but up," Klowden added. "But it would be nice to see that we don't trip and go back down again."